“They add to and feed prejudice, and do real harm, especially to young people.

“They make it difficult for gay people in life as well as in sport.

“We know from the many of our supporters who are keen rugby fans that this is not the kind of behaviour they expect from players.

“Isaacs is either ignorant of the impact his words have or he just doesn’t care; so let’s be crystal clear, ‘a bit of banter’ is never a valid justification for homophobia.”

Two years ago the Ospreys fined another player after a similar incident.

Wing Kristian Phillips was fined by the region for using terminology on Twitter “likely to be construed as homophobic.”

The former Wales 2010 Six Nations squad member later made a public apology for causing offence.

Earlier this week, former Ireland rugby player Neil Francis apologised for suggesting gay people have "no interest" in sport.

An Ospreys spokesman said: "As an organisation we do not tolerate discriminatory behaviour or language of any kind.

"As soon as this was brought to our attention we spoke to Tom to reiterate our position and deal with the issue in line with our disciplinary procedures, by which point he had already acknowledged his misjudgement and offered apologies for his inappropriate use of language.

"We now consider the matter closed."

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